Introduction: We explained in the previous article how CoV’s Solitaire Game’s Initial and Diplomacy Phases utilize Stuka Joe’s marvelous Card Driven Games’ Solo Method (CDGSM) adapted for Congress of Vienna: Designing the Congress of Vienna Solitaire Game, Part 1of 2: Diplomacy and The French Bot | Inside GMT blog. In this article we continue this exposition with the Government and War Phases.
For a wealth of information and wide-range of InsideGMT articles, including the latest status of this game’s graphics development at the talented hands of Terry Leeds, see: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna
Note: You can click through any of the images below to see an enlarged version.
CoV’s Solitaire Rules regulate French Bot procedures. They are shown in plain text. In the below Chart Flow (in large 11″x17′ size when printed), they are schematized in tables for better handling. In this article, we prefer showing them in this format but showing each separately! Please don’t be put off by how complex this appears. When playing the game, the Chart’s color coding by Phase and instructions of how the Bot behaves becomes increasingly easy to follow as experience with the system is achieved.
The Government Phase Using the French Bot
SPENDING RESOURCES:
Unlike the Diplomacy Phase, where the interaction of cards, negotiation, debates, and Issues involve complex Bot decision-making; the CoV Government Phase is simpler. The first step of the Government Phase is to spend Resources using a simple priority list shown in the below Table:
During the Government Phase, six Resources are normally available to France (sometimes increased or decreased by the Initial Environment Table, an Initial Situation Card, or the bonus of the Martin Gaudin card’s French play).
These Resources are sequentially expended by priority:
1. Follow the standard solo rules for Mandatory Issues. That is, the French Bot expends Resources for “funding” these Issues, exactly as a human player must. Thereafter, when French Resource markers remain available, which is the usual situation, it expends them as follows:
2a. French Recruitment Issue. French Recruitment is doubled to four units if France has 20 or more VP than the 2nd place player and French units in the Force Pool are greater than 12. Additionally, while the War of 1812 rages, place 1 US Militia unit in the War of 1812 Box. The Bot has been Government Phase “programmed” to negotiate and debate French Recruitment only when it is really a priority for France. Consequently, we have not put any new additional conditions into this Table. This is a simplistic approach since, on many occasions, some human French players choose not to invest manpower in the War of 1812 and still choose the double Recruitment option. This choice has the disadvantage of suffering a -3 VP penalty. When Resource markers remain after paying for French Recruitment, it uses them for the following two remaining priorities.
2b. Military Support markers: up to 4 or less of these are acquired based on pending War Phase battles unless France has more than 12 units in its Force Pool; in which case Minor Country Issues that provide VP and units receive Resources first. Perhaps it is not the best approach in terms of covering all possible Allied alternatives; but it is simple and quick to implement. Some of our 4-player gamers argued it is overly simplistic. However, that was exactly our design idea: to make it simple and focus France’s Bot-driven overall strategy to boost its strength in battles. Of course, if the Allies have a non-aggressive military strategy; that is, the Allies place less than four Military Operation Issues or the Armistice is in effect, the Bot will not find it necessary to spend all remaining French Resources for Military Support markers.
2c. Activate gained Minor Country Issues if they provide France a unit (and a VP each); a situation that is usual until a Campaign Game’s final turns when France no longer controls as many Minor Countries as it begins with. Do note the exclusion of Poland as a potential French ally: for by 1813 Poland’s ability to provide the French Empire additional troops with a VP award was in the past.
2d-f. These lower priority expenditures are rarely made… but are possible.
DISTRIBUTING MILITARY UNITS:
When you’re done spending France’s Resources, you must distribute units. For solitaire play, we slightly changed the 4-player rules. The French Bot performs this function using Strategic Movement. This done after the Allied human player places units as well as Military Operations and Military Support markers.
We created a so-called “Reserve in Paris” with units to be placed during French Strategic Movement, which has been increased from the usual two or four units (with play of Berthier) in the 4-player game. It is now unlimited for France. We believe this is a huge advantage for the Bot and makes the War Phase much more uncertain and competitive!
The French Bot’s War Phase: Placing Military Operations & Military Support Markers
To carry out the War Phase, we created a succession of Tables that decide how the Bot acts. For this, we followed the experience of several human play testers from CoV 4-p games. The uncertainty of action is determined by a 2D6 roll with dice modifiers according to three levels of War Status (Limited War, Armistice & General War), battles in key spaces, and certain military cards in the French hand.
The process steps are:
1. The Bot must place Military Operation Issue markers that are on the French Track: both French and any Allied marker(s). Two easy-to-use Tables regulate this placement. The first one, shown in Table A-3, is rarely used since France is usually on the defensive and generally does not gain non-French Military Operation markers on its Track. While France rarely gains a French Military Operation marker for the Diplomacy Phase, one is received for free most turns by reserving France’s Napoleon Leader for the War Phase.
The Bot’s intent is to place any Allied Military Operations where they do the least damage to France (e.g., a Russian Military Operation will be placed in the “Russian-Persian War” Box).
A French Military Operation marker is placed sequentially following the above Table. For example, when Andrew Jackson is in the French hand, the French Military Operation is replaced by a US Military Operation and placed in The War of 1812 Box. At other times, it is placed on a Front where French superiority can achieve victory, or on a “forgotten” Front where there are no possible VP losses.
2. The next step is vital for France: placement of French Military Support markers. These, with their +3 DRM each, could greatly affect any upcoming battle(s). The Bot seeks to place them in the most efficient and effective manner, following a sequence shown in the below table.
The first bullet on the Table is clear “Never place a marker where no battle is to occur”. The second defends the key space of Saxony: inasmuch as this space’s loss triggers Russia’s ability to advance beyond Pomerania on northern Europe Track B. Furthermore, while Saxony is French controlled, the French card hand will be greater than 12, which is an important advantage.
The bullets following this allow France to defend the critical space of Paris (lest the Surrender of Napoleon occur!), or key spaces for France either for their easier mountain space defense (Alsace and Gascony) or representing a VP penalty to the Allies (the space of Prussia).
In the last bullet #7, we include what we consider the “best” distribution of available French Military Support when none of the previous options 1-6 are present!
The French Bot’s War Phase: Strategic Movement
Here we make a major change from the 4-p game. France, regardless of Diplomacy Phase winner, is now always last to place units. The Bot places after the Allies distribute their units, Military Operations and Military Support markers. Only then are the Allies able to make limited strategic moves of one or two units by each Allied Major Power (and, as usual, an unlimited number of British fleets).
Before executing the French Bot’s Strategic Movement, the “Paris Reserve” is created. This will normally consist of all the reinforcements, recruitment and replacements France received during the turn, except those used on filling any Armies without units or maintaining a minimum level of 4 units for “La Grande Armée”. This “Paris Reserve” is used to bolster other French Armies subject to Allied attack. The order of strategic movement is as indicated by the prior Table (This is a Common Guideline for French Military Support markers as well as Strategic Movement.).
Finally, the last bullet #5 is the “No Overkill” rule, created by Jim Gutt and David Illanes, to stop reinforcing an Army which already has a +3 French vs. Allied DRM advantage. For example, during the last turns of play, when Napoleon is defending Paris for his very survival, French units are moved from the “Paris Reserve” and other non-attacked Armies (4 or 6 more French units can be transferred depending on whether the Berthier card is France’s hand). The Grande Armée receives unitsuntil it has a +3 battle DRM (“No Overkill” rule) against the most powerful Allied Front confronting it!
If it manages to reach that +3DRM (each unit increases +1 DRM!), French units may be added to other French Armies in keys spaces (see Table above). If there are no such eligible Armies, units would be randomly added among the Armies which are going to battle. It could be that under certain circumstances the Grande Armée could override the “No Overkill” rule and receive more units to gain a greater than +3 battle DRM advantage: a daunting prospect for the Allied human player!
The French Bot’s War Phase: Battles
This is the key and most exciting part of the War Phase, where more actions must be taken by players, and of course, the French Bot. Normally, human players devise their overall strategy by considering the superiority and importance of each Front as well as the military cards saved in their hand(s) for War Phase use. For each battle, two key decisions generally must be made:
1) Whether to battle or Withdraw, and
2) Which military cards to use: Of course, this decision is made without knowing exactly which card(s) their opponent(s) have and are willing to use (which is a “fog of war” design element).
Here is the Bot’s approach to making that decision. First, determine whether a French Army under Allied attack Withdraws from battle. This is done using the following simple procedure:
1. Calculate the Initial Battle Difference (IBD): This is the Allied DRM (all DRM except Allied Military cards) minus France’s DRM (all DRM except possible French Military cards).
2. If Napoleon is in this battle, subtract his DRM from the IBD. If Berthier is also in this battle, subtract his DRM.
3. Subtract four from the IBD if France is defending a mountain space or a space where France would lose a card from its next turn hand if it Withdrew.
4. Roll 1d6 and subtract the result from the IBD.
5. If the IBD is greater than zero, a Withdrawal occurs; otherwise, battle!
When the IBD before the die roll is positive, i.e., France has a reasonable chance of winning, the Bot chooses “no” to Withdrawal. On the contrary, when the IBD is very low (France’s chance of victory is slim or none), CoV’s AI Bot system “always” chooses Withdrawal. In intermediate situations where the modifiers and the inevitable 1d6 dictates whether France accepts a defensive battle or chooses Withdrawal to lose a space: for Withdrawal can decrease unit losses and avoid suffering an additional VP penalty for a major battle defeat!
From the preceding, the French Bot decides whether or not to Withdraw from battle when a Withdrawal is possible (e.g., France can never Withdraw if the battle is in the Paris space!).
The next question for this War Phase battle is: How are saved Possibly Useable Military Cards (PUMC) in the French hand assigned? This decision follows a logical criterion that uses the PUMC where its effect is maximized (in case of a tie on the first Front where they can be used). Also valid is the “sacred” principle of “No Overkill” for French PUMC which can be used in more than one Front when available. Once France allocates cards to achieve a differential of less than or equal to -3; then do not assign more military cards to this Front’s battle. Of course, if there’s only a single battle for that War Phase, the French Bot will put every PUMC into it.
Finally, after determining PUMC allocation(s), to prevent the human Allied player from determining what military cards France will play for each battle before it commences; we developed a “Fog of War” procedure. This allows the French Bot to draw one card from the deck (not used in this turn). That is, for each French Military card played, even if the Bot has no cards in its hand, you draw one from the deck. The below scheme in summary is: a) If the card can be used by France, its DRMs are included in favor of France; b) if it is an Allied card that can be used for this battle, its DRMs are used in favor of the Allies ; c) if France can use the card in a future battle add it to the French PUMC deck; otherwise, discard it! With this Fog of War mechanism, the solo human Allied player is uncertain which card(s) France will play in a battle. This also allows that the Allied hand may become stronger than expected!
The following Table is used:
But what are the odds you may ask? The entire deck consists of 65 available cards. France’s cards are overwhelmingly military: 13 of 16. Add the four neutral military event cards into the mix and there’s a 40% chance the drawn card could militarily help France. Of course, cards already drawn and played up to that battle resolution will influence the odds.
Once the last battle has been resolved, the War Phase ends. Then, as usual in the 4-player game, the End of Turn and Victory Checking Phase occurs. If the game has not ended, the next turn will be played. All available Issue markers are placed in their Diplomacy Display spaces and the appropriate final updating of VP takes place.
Final aspects included in Congress of Vienna’s French Bot
To finish a game using CoV’s French Bot, we created a special Victory Determination procedure for the Allied human Player. He must obtain more VPs with each of his three Major Powers than the VPs obtained by the French Bot at the end of the game.
That is, France must be driven to fourth place on the VP Record Track. In case of a tie, the winner is France. This procedure is valid when you are playing the Full Campaign Game. In shorter scenarios, specific solitaire Victory conditions have also been established. For example, if playing The Spring Campaign of 1813 scenario: “… the leading Allied Major Power must be 30 VP or less behind the French player’s total. The other two Allied Major Powers’ VP scores are ignored.”
We believe a highly interactive and “smart” Bot has been achieved for Congress of Vienna. We know the analytical capacity, perseverance, and creativity of Solitaire Game Players can put the best designed Bot in trouble. Should that occur, the game loses interest! What could the CoV design & development team do to mitigate that possibility so a solitaire gamer can continue having entertaining fun? The answer is simple, we created levels of difficulty for contesting against the French Bot without practically having to modify anything!
There are three answers to the above question. They provide three difficulty level options for confronting the French Bot:
- Choose to exclusively use the Pro-French “B” deck from the Initial Situation Cards. We like this alternative the least because it does not present a “historical” initial situation each turn. Furthermore, it does not allow playing with the uncertainty of which card will be drawn each turn (if using the Initial Situation Card deck random procedure!). However, it does indeed swing the balance against the human player.
- Give the French Bot 1,2 or 3 Handicap Cards at the beginning of each turn. This is a powerful aid for the Bot. Handicap cards usually place additional Issues on the French Track, put more cards in the French hand, or place new units into France’s Armies. Each added Handicap card provides a higher level of difficulty for the Allied human player(s)!
- Finally, another way to enhance the difficulty of the French Bot is to rely on the number of game cards that the Allied (human) player receives. We suggest the Allies receive 5 fewer cards than the independent Allied Major Powers would receive in a 4-player game. An extremely difficult French Bot would mean the human player (Allied) would receive -10 cards. On the contrary, a “softer” Bot would be when the Allied player receives the same number of cards as in a 4p game. (Therefore,no cards are subtracted.)
With these options available, a solitaire player can adjust the Bot’s performance to match their skill level or to arrange a lesser or greater play balance challenge.
Other CoV Solitaire Game Options
If any solitaire player wants to experience how the other side lives, we created an Allied Bot. An enjoyably stressed human player as Napoleon has a titanic struggle against this Allied Bot. For in most cases, this Bot is more coordinated than many Allied players in a 4-p game since it is a single-minded “terminator” in its goal of smashing France! But that’s another story…
In addition, a solo human can play the game noncompetitively without any Bots. This is, when the human player makes all the decisions while facing uncertainty during the Diplomacy Phase using CoV’s adaptation of Stuka Joe’s CDGSM (see this article’s Part 1 of 2) and in the War Phase using the aforementioned ‘Fog of War’ applied to both sides in a kind of “Split Personality” approach many gamers are already familiar with. We hope these options provide many games of entertainment, intrigue, and enjoyment for solo players.
Conclusion: Hopefully, this and the article preceding it have provided readers a general idea of how Congress of Vienna’s Solitaire System French Bot works. The game’s other Bot for the Allies, as briefly alluded to by this article, functions similarly.
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